


Read Signs and Proceed with Caution

by maddiebug



Series: Hydrate Or Die-drate and other helpful reminders [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Being an Idiot, Based off a pinterest prompt, Crack, F/M, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, New girl quotes, Partial Identity Reveal, Road Work Ahead, Semi-Crack, but hes an idiot, chat Noir is nick miller change my mind, chat noir being a dumbass, look we love chat, pay attention chat noir, why do i write chat noir like i write sokka?, yeah i sure hope it does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26317870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddiebug/pseuds/maddiebug
Summary: "Sorry," Adrien shrugged. "I guess I just didn't see the sign.""Signs." Ladybug sighed. "There were three.""I was going so fast I couldn't read them.""That's like common sense. Do you have any impulse control?""I guess not."Alternate Title:Adrien Agreste: Concrete BoyShe facepalmed. "I am fully convinced you never graduated kindergarten.""Honestly," Adrien took a breath. "I'm not convinced I know how to read, I've just memorized a lot of words."
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Hydrate Or Die-drate and other helpful reminders [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1876243
Comments: 17
Kudos: 211





	Read Signs and Proceed with Caution

**Author's Note:**

> Context: Ladybug and Chat are fighting an Akuma, Chat uses his cataclysm, then they're chasing the akuma and in the chaos Ladybug loses Chat. Then she has to search Paris to find him.  
> (I was going to write that part into the story but it felt like wayy to long of an intro to this crack)

After the magical little ladybugs circled around Paris and her partner didn't reappear, Ladybug started to get a little concerned.

She started retracing her steps, back towards the Eiffel Tower, when they had last talked.

She thought he was right behind her, but he was nowhere to be found.

She swung around the city, looking, but he was nowhere to be found, until she got back to the area where the "Road Work Ahead" sign had been. 

There, stuck in the wet concrete was her partner.

Her partner who had run out of time.

And was detransformed. Stuck in concrete. 

She wouldn't have believed her eyes, if she didn't know that it was Chat Noir.

After all, it would be very out of character for freaking Adrien Agreste to walk straight into some wet concrete and get stuck.

Seriously, what kind of idiot-

Chat Noir. That's what kind of idiot. 

Sure, he was sheltered, didn't know how to cross the street, but Marinette assumed he had the common sense to read street signs, and follow directions. 

He was first in their class for physics, but sometimes he was a dumbass.

"Adrien," she called out, "What are you doing in that concrete?"

"Ladybug, oh!" He covered his face with his hands. "You can't see my face."

"Its pretty recognizable." She teased. 

"You can't see it. You don't know who I am."

"Adrien, even if I couldn't see your face, that outfit is enough to identify you."

"I could strip." He offered.

Ladybug's cheeks went red. Dear lord, who had sunshine boy been spending time with? Who corrupted him? "What?"

"If people are going to recognize my clothes, I should get rid of them."

Ladybug's inner Marinette was screaming. She took a deep breath. "You're not going to do that."

"No one can know that I'm Chat Noir."

"You don't have to be." 

He covered his ring with his other hand. "Yes I do. I have a duty to Paris."

"No, no no, you're the best partner-"

"Really?"

"Of course." Ladybug did not have time to unpack everything that just happened, "I just meant you could pretend that Adrien got stuck, not Chat Noir."

"Right, yeah. That makes sense. Other than the fact I'm supposed to be halfway across Paris, playing videogames with my friend Marinette."

Right. That was why she was in such a hurry to defeat the Akuma. "I'm sure she'll understand."

"She's going to laugh at me."

Ladybug had to take a deep breath to not giggle. "Yeah she probably will."

"That's not reassuring."

"Sorry," she chuckled, "but its hilarious."

"Its not funny. I'm stuck in concrete. I can't even Cataclysm it and get out."

"How did you even get stuck?"

"I jumped in."

"But there was a sign." Ladybug pointed behind her. "Bright orange. Said 'caution, wet concrete?' "

"Doesn't ring any bells."

"Seriously?"

"Sorry," Adrien shrugged. "I guess I just didn't see the sign."

"Signs." Ladybug sighed. "There were three. The other ones said 'Road Work Ahead' "

"I was going so fast I couldn't read them."

"I was going faster than you, and I managed to read them." 

"I didn't know I was supposed to read those signs."

"You didn't?"

"I thought they were like, only for cars."

"No, they're for anyone on the road."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"That's like common sense. Do you have any impulse control?"

"I guess not."

She facepalmed. "I am fully convinced you never graduated kindergarten."

"I didn't." 

"You didn't?"

"No."

"Adrien I sit behind you in school. I've seen you write out the formula for a complex carbohydrate by hand. You had to have graduated kindergarten."

"I was home-schooled." Adrien waved his hands frantically. "I passed all the requirements and stuff, mostly, but I didn't really graduate."

"Mostly?"

"Honestly," Adrien took a breath. "I'm not convinced I know how to read, I've just memorized a lot of words."

Ladybug blinked. "Why did I think you were the smart one?"

"I am. I'm really good at math and science."

She sighed. "Adrien, buddy, you have little to no common sense."

"Thanks."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Oh."

"Why am I in love with you?"

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yeah."

"Like- Adrien? Was I the other boy?"

"Yeah."

"Ladybug, this is great!"

"We can talk about it after we get you out."

"Hey, didn't you say that you sit behind me in-"

Ladybug changed the subject. "How do we get you out of there?"

"Good question. I'm not sure."

"Any ideas?"

"None that have been successful." Adrien wiggled his legs. "No matter what I do, I'm stuck."

"Great." Ladybug held out her arms. "Grab my hands and I'm going to pull you as hard as I can, okay?"

"Okay." He reached his hands out to grab hers. They were warm.

"Go!" Ladybug used all of her strength to pull-

-and fell backwards. 

Adrien didn't budge. "Nice try."

"Plan B?"

"Amputation." 

"What?"

"I've thought about it. If there's no other way, I am willing to lose my legs."

"We're superheroes, I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Like what?"

"Not amputation."

"We can keep it as a backup option."

"Okay. It can be our last resort."

"Did you have a different last resort?"

"Getting so angry that I get akumatized and break myself out."

"Let's definitely not do that. There's so many ways it could go wrong."

"Yeah, I might not even be able to get out of the concrete-"

"I was thinking more along the lines of hawkmoth discovering your identity and getting the rings, but yeah it would be sad if the ladybugs reversed everything and you were stuck back in concrete."

"I think I'd cry."

"We don't want that."

"Definitely not. I guess this is my life now. I'm Adrien Agreste, concrete boy."

"Stop being dramatic, we can get you out."

"I have to live stuck to the sidewalk for the rest of my life, unable to move."

"Any other ideas?"

"I wanted to cataclysm the concrete, but Plagg is asleep."

"Asleep?"

"He needs fancy cheese to recharge."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

"What cheese?"

"Camenbert."

"That's the expensive one, right?"

"Yeah, it smells really bad."

"Yeah you're stuck there forever."

"Wait, why haven't you transformed back?"

Ladybug shrugged. "Im magical."

"I'm magical too."

"I didn't need to use my lucky charm. I defeated the akuma without it."

"I think you're supposed to use it to save me."

"You're a genius."

"I know." Adrien blushed.

"Lucky Charm!"

A giant concrete-breaking drill fell out of the sky. 

"Please-"

"I don't know how to use that, and I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

"Yeah, that's scary."

Before Ladybug could talk again, a pair of shoes fell from the sky, landing in her arms. "Huh."

"What?"

"Adrien," Ladybug spoke slowly. 

"I'm not dumb, I know that tone of voice."

"-can you take your feet out of your shoes?"

"I already-" Adrien pulled one foot out. "Okay yeah I'm dumb."

Ladybug grabbed him and pulled him out of the shoes and on to dry ground. "Here are your new shoes."

"Thanks Ladybug, without you I'd be stuck."

"I know." She gave him a little push. "Go have fun on your date."

"My- oh Marinette? She's just a very good friend."

Ladybug sighed. "Of course she is."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Adrien laced up his new shoes. How much time do you have?"

"Four minutes, why?" 

"Can you give me a ride back? I don't really want to walk hallway across- Ah!"

Ladybug picked him up bridal style. "Yeah no problem." Eventually, she swung onto her balcony, setting him down gently. "Here you go."

"You're not going to take away my miraculous, right?"

"No, I'm not. I trust you."

"I trust you too."

"Go get her tiger."

"I prefer kitty."

Ladybug laughed. "Either way, have fun on your date."

"You know the only person I want to date is you-"

She uttered her transformation phrase. "Have fun on your date."

"Marinette?" He opened and closed his mouth. "Ladybug?"

"Your date with Marinette. Who is me. Ladybug."

"Oh." He smiled. "I think I will."

"Yeah, me too."

**Author's Note:**

> Was anyone going to tell me that the miraculous New York special comes out in 20 days or was I just supposed to find out from a pinterest post that was a screenshot of a tumblr post that was a screenshot of an instagram post, myself??
> 
> I am hyped.  
> Also conflicted, because literally this morning, I was like, I'm done with mlb. This hiatus is ridiculous, there isn't going to be anything new, and I was only going to write avatar fan fic for a while, but I saw that and I had to write something...
> 
> Also I want to say thanks for all of the positive feedback! I always get do many nice comments, which means a lot, thank you guys. I read every comment, and try to respond to them all. 💕💕💕
> 
> Also damn I'm at 150 fics on A03, 145 of those are miraculous Ladybug. That's over 300,000 words I've written in this fandom. That's insane. So many words and none of them make sense
> 
> Shout out to me for writing this instead of my eng 101 hw..classic maddiebug.
> 
> ......
> 
> Hey, do you read/write/art for this fandom? Check out the [ miraculous fanworks ](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) discord server.


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